April Fool's Day
by Cory Holmes
Summary: An April Fool's day war between everyone's favourite ex-couple.


April Fool's Day  April Fool's Day All theirs, not mine. They own all characters, situations, places, etc. herein. Nothing, save the story (and possibly some wacky personality quirks) is mine. 

April Fools' Day

Captain Bridger surveyed his bridge and its staff. The frantic, yet subdued and professional activity of the people pleased him to no end. They were coming together, and this was an operation they'd been planning for some time. When Commander Hitchcock had come forward with her plan, Bridger had been skeptical of its chances for success, but allowed her to persuade him and go ahead with it. 

Now, as he sat there and reflected back on it, he was glad he allowed her to proceed. It was well-planned and well thought-out, and the more he thought of it, the more he liked it. He liked the fact that it would do a major blow to the constant morale drain that was living in such an enclosed area for so long. He liked the fact that almost everyone, including Lucas, who would be involved would have a major role to play in its execution. He liked it because it was for a good cause. And, if he was honest with himself, he liked it because he could have some fun while executing it. 

He looked over at Commander Ford, who was coordinating everything. As usual, the Commander was cool while executing his duties, but did spare the Captain a quick glance and a smile. Bridger turned his gaze to Chief Ortiz, studiously working away as usual, didn't even look up. Following in his line of sight was Lieutenant O'Neil was working away, relaying messages to and from the parties involved. But most importantly, keeping an ear out for that one sound he did not want to hear, the sound that would inform all that everything was lost and the mission was a failure. 

Next came Chief Crocker, who was directing the internal workings of the security staff to keep all personnel from screwing the whole thing up. "Especially the civilian content," he'd groused at the Captain before. Towards the fore of the bridge, Mr. Shan was working with a look of intense concentration on his face, trying to keep the _seaQuest_ moving through the oceans as smoothly as possible, so not to prematurely set off their quarry. Finally his gaze settled on Commander Hitchcock. As he did so, so did all the other bridge crew. She had the final say on go/no-go. 

Hitchcock could feel their eyes on her head, but ignored it and continued with her preparations. Everything had to be just right or it would blow up in their faces, and she was not going to let that happen. Not only did she make the Captain several assurances as to the value of the mission, but her pride was also on the line. That alone was enough to spur her onto greater work. Finally, after finishing her last of the four checks she ran, she looked up, met the Captain's gaze, did her best to hide the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth, and nodded. It was going to work 

Bridger nodded back and signaled O'Neil to open the proper communications channel and then readied himself. He took a deep breath, waited for O'Neil to signal back, and bellowed, "Wake up, Lieutenant!" 

Benjamin Krieg was dreaming. He knew it was a dream, but he didn't care. It was enjoyable, and that's all that mattered. At least it was enjoyable until someone interrupted by shouting, "Wake up, Lieutenant!" 

His time at the U.E.O. academy had only sharpened his natural instincts. Here, his instincts told him to bolt upright in bed, snap his eyes open, whip his head around to survey the situation, and allow the adrenaline to flood into his system and sharpen his senses to be ready for anything. 

In theory, at least. 

In reality, he only made it most of the way upright in his bed before his forehead slammed into the overhanging object that someone had maneuvered into position. He rebounded backwards and flopped onto the bed, clutching at his skull. 

Through the haze of pain, he could hear the whole bridge on the other end of the connection dissolve into laughter. Even though he was incensed, the prankster in him couldn't help but appreciate the effort someone put into it. Someone planned it very carefully. Someone kept everything quiet, so he wouldn't hear anything. Someone convinced the Captain to go along with this. Someone watched him carefully to figure out his personal habits No, wait. It wasn't some_one_; Ben knew exactly who was responsible. "Hitchcock!" he roared between clenched teeth. 

Restraining himself to grinning, Captain Bridger was extremely pleased with how the operation turned out. Even Crocker, a man who normally found nothing to do with Benjamin Krieg the slightest bit entertaining, was laughing until his face was red. The room was getting close to ending its mirth when Krieg shouted at the woman responsible, which only sent everyone back into knee-slapping merriment. 

Then the woman in question waved the room into silence, which took some time while she wiped a tear from her eye, and then answered the man. "Yes?" Katie asked with deceptive sweetness. She was ecstatic that everything had gone without a hitch. But then the Captain tossed a monkey wrench into her plans. 

"Lieutenant," he said, ignoring the stare Commander Hitchcock sent in his direction, "while you're awake, if you have nothing better to do that is, would you please be so kind as to bring your latest reports to me on the bridge, I'd appreciate it." Looking at Hitchcock carefully from the corner of his eye, he could see her suddenly stand up very straight and glance very warily in Lieutenant O'Neil's direction. He smiled inwardly; _April Fool's_, he thought sadistically. 

Then his attention was brought back to reality by Lieutenant Krieg answering, "Yes, sir. But you'll have to wait a bit until my vision stops doubling on me, okay? Okay," he answered for the Captain, and then he cut the connection. 

While the bridge crew slowly recomposed themselves, Katie seethed inwardly. The Captain didn't follow the plan, and now Ben was on his way up. Oh, god! Ben was on the way up while she was still there! She was on bridge duty, by her own manipulations, so she could be there when the whole thing went down, and therefore had no excuse for leaving. For the moment she put such thoughts out of her mind and went on with her regular duties, focused totally on the consuming nature of her task. 

Until her ex-husband came to the bridge. 

All eyes flew to the clam doors when that notable entered. An ice pack clamped firmly to his forehead. He walked up to the Captain with something less than his usual saunter, a sheaf of papers held under his other arm. All the while Katie was trying to fight her natural instinct to get up and leave while not looking like she was fleeing. Not that she was easily spooked or frightened, but she knew Ben. She had a good idea of what was going on inside his head and had no intention of being around him when he went off. 

She risked a glance at him, and noticed just how straight his back was, just how measured his steps were Ah, to hell with it. She quietly slipped out of her chair and slowly made her way back towards the clam door that Ben had just walked through. 

She eyed his position next to the Captain, and judged the distance to the door. He'd never notice. She started to creep a little faster as Ben bowed his head to speak with the Captain without unduly raising his voice beyond what bridge protocol called for. 

Then she gave up all pretense of stealth when Ben called out to the whole bridge staff, "All right, I'm willing to admit that was funny. It was well-planned, well-timed, and well-executed. All the makings of a good joke, so I'm almost willing to overlook it all. Oh, and Katie?" he asked calmly without turning around. 

She froze like a deer caught in headlights. Damn! Almost made it. He then faced her fully. She steeled herself for whatever he might throw at her, as did the rest of the bridge. 

"Of course you realize," he said and there was a collective holding of breath as the bridge waited. He pointed at her with the ice pack, "This means war." And then he walked passed her and off the bridge, some of the saunter back in his gait. 

Katie swallowed hard. _Ben revenge? Uh, oh._ This was cause for worry. Much cause for worry. 

"Uh Lieutenant Commander?" Captain Bridger asked her. After Lieutenant Krieg had left the bridge, she'd stood there, like she was rooted to the spot. Eventually his curiosity got he better of him and he had to ask her. "Problems?" 

"Not that you'd notice," she answered in a semi-strangled voice. Then she turned to face him. "I'm in a lot of trouble," was all she'd say in elaboration. 

  


Ensign McNeal made her way to the bridge, almost late for her duty shift. The stories of the morning's April Fools Day activities had circulated through the ship's grapevine several times over again by willing mouths, but the one story that stood out was the prank pulled on Lieutenant Krieg. Oh, that was priceless! When she heard of it, she laughed until the tears were flowing like there was no tomorrow. She broke out into a brisk walk to make it to her station on time. 

Hah! Two minutes early! She was extremely proud of herself that she made it on time and Lieutenant O'Neil would be extremely proud of her and maybe he'd take notice of her and hey, wasn't that Lieutenant Krieg? _What's he doing here?_, she wondered. His bridge shift ended hours ago. Wait a minute she turned to watch him. She looked at his trajectory and speed, and then worked them backwards in her mind. What had he been doing at the main Engineering station? Her mind then supplied her with a rehash of one of the stories. Something about Lieutenant Krieg declaring war on Commander Hitchcock Oh, boy. 

Twenty minutes later, Commander Hitchcock walked onto the bridge. After taking a few moments to speak with the engineer currently on duty, she took her place at the station and started typing. A few minutes later, she blinked, and typed again. Another few minutes passed before she pursed her lips, apparently in deep thought. Then she shrugged, turned around and spoke again with the engineer before standing up. 

McNeal watched her carefully out of the corner of her eye. One of the main topics of gossip and debate were how the Commander and Lieutenant Krieg got together in the first place. No one knew, and the two in question weren't speaking. She'd once tried to get the Commander to talk about it, but it was all for naught, even considering the original approach McNeal had taken to broaching the question. She'd asked the officer if Lieutenant Krieg was as good in bed as his attitude suggested. The other woman had turned to her with an icy gaze and told her to mind her own business. McNeal was almost tempted to press the issue, but Lieutenant Krieg had raised his head from the table he occupied to stare directly at the women, almost as if he could hear their conversation from across the room. 

He'd held their gazes for a few moments before he shrugged and turned his attention back to That Brat Known As Lucas, who had been tugging at the man's sleeve and had then thrust a piece of paper into his face. 

Ever since that little story had reached the lower echelons of the boat, an unofficial betting pool had started, with the winner being the person who could finally drag some information out of either participants. The strange thing was there were more than a few silent partners in that pool, with money being placed from anonymous sources and through fronts. Oh, well. McNeal was determined to win that money, even if she had to drag the knowledge out of the two sources. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the Commander stopping on her way off the bridge, appearing to be deep in thought, before she turned around and walked back to the station. Again she spoke with the woman on duty, again she sat down, and again she typed out command after command. This time, however, when she stopped typing her eyes slowly lit up and a smile graced her features. 

The smile slowly turned to a smirk as she shook her head and muttered to herself. Then the smirk slowly faded as she read what was displayed. 

Her eyes narrowed and she stabbed at the keyboard with sharp, angry thrusts that threatened to crack the plastic. Shoving back from the station, she turned on her heel and stalked off the bridge, muttering again. 

Well, well, well. McNeal was starting to like how this was shaping up. She only hoped that no one would get caught in the crossfire. 

  


Katie was less than impressed with herself. What she at first had thought to Ben's tampering had turned out to be only a routine programming error. She'd double checked the information above that glitch, and discovered that everything was status quo, which meant that whatever Ben had done, he'd done deeper in the system. 

She shook her head in amazement. Every time she thought she had that man pegged or understood, he went ahead and showed her wrong. She knew he was much smarter than he let on, as could be testified by his Academy record, and was quite willing to use that intelligence for whatever fancy crossed his mind. 

In fact, that was one of the problems during their marriage; the fact that she had no clue what was going inside his head was another, and the fact that he all-too regularly read her mind. It was hard to keep secrets from someone who knew you better than you know yourself, and even harder to trust someone who was a cypher to you. 

Shaking her head to clear it of old thoughts, she turned her attention back to the job at hand. In her quarters, she'd hauled out every manual she had on the _seaQuest_'s systems and was in the process of reviewing them, just to make sure Ben hadn't found a crack that she was unaware of. She knew it would take hours or maybe even days, but she was not going to let that man get the better of her... 

  


Three days later, Captain Bridger called the department heads together for their weekly meeting, though this time the Computer Sciences department had something to share. He surveyed the faces in front of him, looking for any changes from the last meeting. Dr. Westphalen look no worse than normal. Commander Ford was still the striking image of the Military Man. Lucas was... Lucas; he didn't have a better description than that. Lieutenant Commander Hitchock, on the other hand... 

He couldn't put his finger on it, exactly, but she just looked frazzled. Her hair, though brushed, looked like it hadn't been washed in days. Her hands were slightly jittery, and her eyes were shadowed, as if from lack of sleep. He was about to ask her about it, but then decided against it, figuring that whatever it was, she could take of it herself. 

However, all through the meeting his curiosity gnawed at him. Just what was going on with her? He was always a good judge of people, and he judged her to be as dedicated to the military as his First Officer. Something had gotten to her to cause this kind of reaction. During her part of the meeting, reporting on the boat's status, he shared a surreptitious glance with the other adults at the table. They echoed his thoughts and questions with their eyes. 

When the Lieutenant Commander paused to hide a yawn with her hand, Captain Bridger could no longer stand it. "Something the matter, Commander?" he asked as offhandedly as he could. When she started to automatically answer negatively, he raised an eyebrow. The yawn changed into a sigh and she closed her eyes and rested her face in her hands, which she propped up on the table. 

When her eyes stayed closed, the Captain glanced around at the other faces. They shrugged back at him, and looked at the younger woman. In the few moments before the blue eyes opened, he was almost positive that she was avoiding the question by catching up on some much-needed sleep. 

But then they did open, and she said, "It's just Ben, Captain. Not much to worry about," without lifting her head. The last part came out with a semi-hopeful tone to it. He didn't buy it. He raised his eyebrow again. She sighed again, feeling the gesture on the top of her head.. "You remember April Fool's day? Well, you were there when he declared war. It appears that I've been hit with the opening volley." 

The Captain blinked. Looked at his staff. Blinked again, wondering where this was heading. They looked at him. They blinked, wondering where this was heading. 

He was about to prompt her for more when she started again, "One of the junior officers working under Lieutenant O'Neil saw him leaving my station later that day, well after his bridge shift ended." There was a collective nodding of heads at the table as understanding settled in. 

"And...?" Captain Bridger prodded. 

"And I've spent the last three days trying to figure out just what he's done to the systems." 

The Captain blinked, wondering where this was heading. Looked at his staff. Blinked again. They looked at him. They blinked, wondering where this was heading. 

"Uhh... I doubt that he's very good at computers," Dr. Westphalen drawled, her accent seeming thicker than normal. Finally Commander Hitchock lifter her head from the table and looked at everyone present, eye to eye. 

"This is Ben we're talking about," she said, and the others blinked at each other again, wondering where this was heading. Again. 

"Yes..." the doctor drawled again, drawing the word out, her curiosity obviously peaked. When the younger woman sighed, Captain Bridger had the distinct impression whatever came out next was going to sound like it was directed at small children. 

"He's nothing if not creative." 

Yup. He was right. It sounded exactly like it was directed at small childre- _Hey, wait a minute_, he thought. Ben Krieg? Creative? He pictured the man standing next to the word. The image didn't work in his mind. He blinked. He blinked at his blinking. He made a mental note to not blink the next time. 

"Uhh... Commander?" Lucas spoke up from beside her. "Ben's not exactly... creative," he said slowly, as if not to offend her. 

"Oh, yes he is. Take a look at his Academy record if you don't believe me." 

"And what would we find his Academy record?" Commander Ford asked her. 

"You'd find that he graduated second in his class, three tenths of a percent behind first place, which went to Robert." 

"Really?" the doctor said, disbelief in her voice. 

"Really. You should've seen the look on their faces when the results came back," she grinned, remembering. "They were good friends, but ready to slug it out." 

"Good... friends?" Captain Bridger echoed, trying to imagine his late son being friends with a loose cannon like Krieg and failing miserably. 

"Yeah. They met in the Academy Director's office." 

"The directors office?" 

"They were both being investigated for April Fool's day pranks. They were outside her office, waiting, when they started talking. At first they were upset because each thought the other had taken the title of Prankster Supreme. Then they got yelled at some, answered questions, got yelled at some more, and were assigned punishment to be completed together. My understanding - because I got all of this second hand from Robert's girlfriend, Anna, one of my friends- was that they were sniping at each other the whole time. The next day they met at the gym, both of them being workout buffs, had a good griping match while each took turns spotting, and left friends. 

"However, that didn't stop them from trying harder to top each other in the second year of Academy. The third year they took no chances. It was a day of one-uppmanship, with each of them racing around to outdo the other. The fourth year..." she started, but then trailed off. 

"The fourth year?" Ford prodded, interest written all over his face, though he tried to hide it. The Lieutenant Commander gave a short, nervous laugh before composing herself to proceed. 

"The fourth year they teamed up," she said before her composure cracked. "Oh, god. That year... it was hellish." 

"Hellish?" all four of the others repeated. 

"They teamed up. And they took the opportunity to get revenge on the Director." 

"Revenge?" Lucas echoed, leaning forward, really interested in the story about his best friend. 

"Yeah. They worked all through the previous night to get it done right. They broke into her office and took it." 

"Took the office?" Westphalen said, clearly not understanding. 

"They took her office apart and put it back together... out in the courtyard. They were exact down to the smallest detail. Her desk, chairs, telephone, photographs, computer, bookcases, even her grandfather clock, for God's sake! Hell, even the coffee cup and saucer she left on her desk at the end of the day! I still have no idea how they managed to carry all that stuff outside without someone noticing. 

"That is what I mean by Ben is nothing if not creative." 

It was only through a supreme force of will that the Captain managed to keep himself from blinking. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the rest of his staff unable to summon up the will and blink. It was a few moments after her story ended did anyone speak up. 

"Uhh... can I ask you something?" Lucas spoke up. 

"Sure."  
"How did you sneak into Ben's room in the first place? I've bunked with him a few times and he's really a light sleeper," he asked. 

"Yeah, he is. He's a very light sleeper. Except for about twenty minutes during the middle of night, when any little munchkin can go stomping around his bed and not worry about waking him up," she said with a twinkle in her eye, remembering. 

"Really?" Lucas asked, leaning towards the woman, earnestly trying to get more out of her. _What's he doing?_ Bridger asked himself, and then he asked himself just how Lucas was planning on getting that new computer chip he'd been badgering the older man about for weeks now. 

Bridger put two and two together and got four. 

_So Lucas is planning on selling information on them, eh?_ he mused to himself. Ah, let the kid do it, a small corner of his mind suggested before he was brought back to reality by Commander Hitchcock again. 

"Actually, Lucas, I'll make you an offer." 

"What kind of offer?" 

"I'll tell you more about Ben if you give me a hand with this." 

"Deal!" Lucas cried out quickly, and Bridger could almost see the dollar signs ringing behind the boy's eyes. Well, it was that or simply the opportunity of working with a woman the teen had a crush on. It was obvious to all who looked at him when he was in close proximity to her. _Nah_, he decided. It was the money the kid was after. 

Commander Hitchcock smiled at him, and the kid got a dopey grin on his face. Well, maybe... the Captain thought before he dismissed it. Lucas might lust after the woman, but he lusted after his computers and gadgets even more. Captain Bridger sighed. He would have to do something about that. 

  


Four days after that, Katie was swiping at her eyes, trying to get rid of the sleep in them, then blinking her eyes to focus them on the book and monitor beside it. She was still in her quarters even though it was her lunch break. She was hungry, yes, but she was more determined than ever to find out just what that _male_ had done to _her_ computer systems. 

Lucas was in the middle of sleeping on his folded arms, having given up the ghost long ago. She spared the kid a glance before going back to her checking. Reaching for the thermos of coffee she had, she absentmindedly poured a generous amount into her cup, and it wasn't until the cup made it to her lips that she realized nothing was there. Frowning, she unscrewed the lid to the thermos and discovered it was empty. 

She nudged the boy, who only sputtered a bit and mumbled, "Not just yet... gimme a few more minu..." before dozing off again. She poked him in the ribs. Nothing. She tried harder. "Just a few more..." came out before being followed by a quiet snore. Now totally fed up, she picked up the thermos and slammed it onto the metal table, right by his head. 

The clang jerked him awake and into a stiff sitting position. "I didn't fall asleep! I didn't!" he cried out reflexively. Then he remembered where and when he was and his hair flattened back down onto his head. "What'd you do that for? All you had to do was nudge me," he protested. 

She sighed and pushed the thermos towards the kid. "Go down to the galley and get a new one, okay?" 

"What? Why me? Why can't you do it yourself?" 

"I can't go back there with this thing again. I keep getting these looks..." 

"All right, all right, I'll do it... Sheesh, couldn't ask nicely or anything," he muttered on his way out and she blinked. Was it her imagination or was he started to sound like Ben? _Egad_. _ I'd better talk to the Captain about that_, she thought before quashing the notion. Lucas looked up to the other man like an older brother, and he was one of the very few people who could tolerate the boy. 

Like it or not, and she did not, they were good for each other. Ben treated him with a modicum of respect, and Lucas returned the favour by actually listening to Ben when he was ignoring everyone else. Lucas, whether he knew it or not, actually inspired Ben to drop part of idiot routine sometimes and Ben helped Lucas to understand what was going around him, both in terms of the Military and in growing up. 

Her thoughts were cut off when she stretched her arms above her head and was rewarded with a hideous popping noise coming from her shoulders. Wincing in the pain that followed soon after that, she decided she needed a break. However, she only got to the hatch to her quarters when Lucas barged back in, a steaming thermos in his hands. 

"What? Leaving now? After I just went out of my way to get this? You wouldn't believe the sort of stuff I had to go through to get it..." Katie sighed deeply. It was going to be a long, long night. 

  


Ensign McNeil watched the clam doors carefully. If her sources were right, the boring bridge shift was about to get a little more entertaining..... _Ahh, there she is_, McNeil thought to herself as Lieutenant Commander Hitchcock stalked onto the bridge and over to her station. McNeil reflected on the last few days and realized, as the had the rest of the crew, that Commander Hitchcock didn't walk anymore. She stalked. Wherever she went. In the hallways. On the bridge. In the gym. In the mess hall. Everywhere. 

McNeil cast a surreptitious glance around the bridge and noticed that more than a few of the other people were doing the same, watching the Lieutenant Commander to see what new levels of frustration her ex-husband had driven her to. 

Once she'd sat down, the Commander rolled up her uniform sleeves and started to open up the station itself. McNeil frowned and glanced at some of the other people who were watching her and saw her confusion reflected in their eyes. When she pulled out a tiny flashlight and started to inspect the machinery, the light began to dawn for McNeil. 

Though they had duties to attend to, the shift was boring that nearly everyone had their eyes glued on the engineer. McNeil paid particular attention to the other woman. Over the last week, yet another betting pool had sprung up on the boat. This time the prize money was when the Commander would finally give up and admit defeat. If she gave in soon, McNeal would be up by ten points and would pull in a generous amount of cash. And she needed it, especially after what she paid That Brat for more information about Lieutenant Krieg. 

She, like many of the female members of the crew, had spent many an hour gossiping about that man and comparing him to others that they'd known over the years. Though some of the other men on the senior staff were talked about, the women of the boat preferred Krieg. Even some of the science staff women were involved in the gossip. Strangely though, no one, but no one, had ever heard Commander Hitchcock say anything about him, either for or against. 

McNeil broke off that line of thought when she heard some muffled curses come out of the Engineering station. She frowned when the curses got louder. She was about to do more than sit passively and listen when her panel beeped and she shifted her attention back to her duties. It was almost ten minutes of solid working before she finally raised her head up and looked over at the station in question. 

Except there wasn't a station there. 

In it's place was a mass of parts, circuit boards, panels, and a chassis. 

Then the clam doors opened, the Captain and First Officer walked in, and everyone on the bridge was suddenly more interested in their panels and the mundane work than the entertainment Commander Hitchcock provided. 

  


Captain Bridger looked at the crew of his bridge. And then he frowned. _What was she doing **now**?_ he thought. He sat down at his command chair and watched her out of the corner of his eye for a moment. Then he sighed, looked over at his First Officer, got up, and walked over to his Lieutenant Commander. 

"Dare I ask?" he said softly. Not soft enough, because there was a muffled cry from the head that was buried inside the station. The body started to move, but then there was a bump inside said panel and the body when limp for a moment. 

Hitchcock slowly extracted herself from the guts of the station, rubbing the back of her head. 

"Sir?" she queried. 

"Dare I ask what you're up to now?" he repeated. 

"Well," the woman began after several moments of silent debate, "I haven't been able to find anything wrong with the systems, so I started to think that maybe Ben's done something to the machinery itself, not the programs." 

"Was Lucas any help?"  
"Yeah, he helped to speed up deciding that Ben is a true, dyed-in-the-wool bastard." 

"Didn't you decide that before?" Commander Ford said, walking closer to the two. 

"Uh huh, but now I'm sure of it," she answered, venom in her voice. Bridger looked at Ford, and the barest hint of a smile twitched the corners of his lips before vanishing. 

"So why are you tearing up my bridge?" he asked. 

"I told you already. Also, it was due for a check soon, anyway," she answered, a bit more brusquely then she usually would've, but this whole thing with Ben was taking it's toll on her. 

The Captain was about to ask her another question before he decided against it, and subtly motioned Ford to follow him back to the command station. 

"Sir, what are we going to do? We have a full senior staff meeting coming up soon, and unless something happens soon, those two are going to be put in the same room for three hours." 

"Sitting next to each other, too, I think."  
"Huh?"  
"Think back at all the other senior staff meetings we've had when those two are in the room. They've always sit next to each other." Ford thought for a moment and then groaned. 

"If this isn't wrapped up soon, we're going to be in a lot of trouble," he said, completely missing the smile that worked it's way onto Bridger's face. 

  


Three days after that, nothing had happened. Commander Ford was dreading the upcoming meeting. He went as far as to think of trying to convince the Captain to postpone it, and even tried it once. He was soundly refused. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that the older man was enjoying the banter between the two. And that's not to say that Jonathan didn't enjoy it himself; he did. But now it's gotten to the point of interfering with her duties. 

He shook his head. Enough of that, he ordered himself and turned his mind to the task at had: How to keep Katie from tearing Ben's head off during the meeting. Any idea that he came up with was shot down by the Captain, which proved to Jon that he was trying to steer the two into a confrontation. 

He looked up when the door open and the first of the many people filed into the Ward Room. Lieutenant O'Neil, who was beginning to spend a lot of his free time finding ways to avoid that new ensign assigned to him. He was followed by Lucas, who didn't walk so much as slouch into the room in an ambulatory manner. Then came Chief Petty Officer Ortiz, deep in conversation with Chief Crocker, who was scratching at his beard. Doctor Westphalen and Captain Bridger was next, also deep in conversation. 

Then Jonathan had to grit his teeth as Ben Krieg sauntered into the room. That man... Jon had no idea how that man had ever gotten on board the flagship of the U.E.O. He was nothing but trouble. He had no respect for the chain of command, and even less for proper military protocol. But... he grudgingly had to admit that, aside from the thermal chip problem, the boat had never gone without it's supplies, even those on backorder were filled in an impressive time frame. 

However, Ford would be damned if he gave Krieg one bit of respect that he didn't have to fight for, tooth and nail. Add to that the fact that however he and Katie broke up, Jon was positive that it was Krieg's fault. That man simply _lived_ on report; whereupon Katie was one of the best officers Jon had ever served with. Therefore, it, whatever it was, was Krieg's fault. 

He followed Krieg's movements from the corner of his eye and saw him sit down next Lucas and whisper something that caused the teen to turn to him and grin. Then the grin melted off the boy's face and was replaced with something akin to fear. 

Jon, and nearly everyone else in the room, followed his panicked gaze and nearly had a collective heart attack when Lieutenant Commander Hitchcock stalked into the room, stalked passed everyone else, stalked over to Krieg, and glared daggers at him. 

Krieg totally ignored her. He didn't even glance in her direction or break his conversation with Lucas. 

She kept glaring at him for a moment before dismissing him with a derisive sniff and upturned nose, and then flopping down in the chair beside him, just as the Captain had predicted. 

There was dead silence for a moment before Bridger cleared his throat. "Now that we're all here, shall we get started? Okay, let's start with a crew status review..." 

  


Jonathan was impressed. All through the meeting, Katie managed to restrain herself from reaching over and physically beating the truth out of her ex-husband, who, for his part, was a calm and professional officer in the U.E.O., which was just too much for Jon to handle. He knew it was an act put on to further infuriate his ex-wife, which was working all to well. 

It was clear that, while she managed to restrain herself from doing anything unbecoming, he had gotten to her, and gotten to her badly. She was constantly shifting in her chair, balling her fists, playing with papers, and glancing over at Krieg. That last one irked Ford more than anything else. Not only did he have to deal with one ineffective officer, now he had to deal with _two_ of them. And it was all Krieg's fault. 

The worst part was that Jon knew Krieg could do better. He'd done as Katie suggested and looked up the Supply Officer's academy record, and, sure enough, it was all there. Second in his class, even ahead of Katie, and had numerous recommendations from most of the staff there. He had been about to open up the rest of Krieg's file when he got sidetracked with more important duties. 

He looked around at the assembled faces and saw that others had noticed Katie's strange behaviour. He glanced at the clock. _Oh, no_, he lamented to himself. _Only one hour's gone by. Two more still to come_...__

__

  


To say that tension was building in the room would have been tame. It was so thick that one could have cut it with a knife. And it was all the product on one woman's conflicting emotions towards one man. On the one hand, she wanted to maintain her air of professionalism, and on the other she wanted to reach into his brain through his nostrils and haul out what she wanted, after much rooting around. 

Added to that the fact that doing such a physical move would be admitting defeat, something that was pure anathema to her. And even worse, it would be admitting defeat to _that_ man, and that was something that she would never, ever do. Well... she was seriously considering doing just that, just so she could end the torture and get it over and done with. 

Katie blinked. _Get it over and done with?_ she thought to herself. _That's what I did with our marriage._ Yes, she decided, there were some things that was wrong with their marriage, especially their competitiveness. All one had to do is watch their behaviour during the last few weeks to decide that. But... there were other parts that worked, and not just the sex, which was damned good on it's own. But when they both dropped their defenses and masks and armour plating and actually spent time with each other, it was the best and sweetest thing that had happened to each other. 

Also, she asked herself, _why do I keep sitting next to him at these meetings?_ She was unable to come up with a decent answer that didn't sound like a cop-out or an excuse, and that was another she thing she didn't do; cop-out or make excuses. She expected the naked truth and honesty from the people she dealt with, and it would be cheap of her to not give the same back. 

_But... But... _that nagging part of her mind queried. _If it's so important to you, why did you hook up with Ben in the first place? He's larcenous through and through. Not to mention cheap._ _Yeah_, she answered, _but not with me, he wasn't. With me, when he, the true **he**, was with me, he was the sweetest, kindest person I've ever known. He even had, and still has, Jonathan beat by a mile and a half._ She thought back over the last week and a half. _He's also a dyed-in-the-wool bastard_, she growled. 

And so Katie warred with herself. Wanting to end it and not wanting to do it by surrender. She glanced over at the man beside her and felt the swell of rage, anger, and unlamented passion that she always felt when looking at him, though the emotions had been magnified in the last few weeks. 

But she'd be damned, again, if she let that man back into her heart one micron without it totally reciprocated. Yes, she'd spent many nights, both before and after they were assigned to the _seaQuest_ about tracking Ben down and giving it a second shot. Now her nights, on the rare occasion when they weren't about duties and electronics and mechanics, were spent wondering if Ben even felt the same way. 

But every time she'd met him since the divorce she'd been met with defenses, masks, and armour plating; all at full strength. 

And she'd dared not hope that her mind was playing tricks on her when she thought she saw them drop for a moment or two and he'd let her in again. 

Sometimes the hardest part was watching him around Lucas. The boy had an open road through the defenses, and he didn't have to try hard. Somehow, Lucas had gotten through to him. She thought back to what she'd decided earlier in the week, about how the two boys were good for each other and she agreed with that assessment. They were. 

Thinking these thoughts while trying her best not to give in to her instincts and physically beat the information out of Ben and only reacting automatically to the meeting, she eventually arrived at a decision. 

  


The Captain was impressed with his Second Officer. She was controlling herself very well, even though the strain of it showed at times. He glanced down at her hands, noting how white the knuckles holding her reports were. He pinched the bridge of his nose to hide the grin that tugged at the corners of his lips. He wondered, not for the first time, if the two knew just how much they acted like they were still married. He thought back to the time they were discussing Broken Ridge and a slight chuckle managed to work its way up into his throat before he suppressed it. 

The way he saw it, they would either get back together and stay that way this time, or they'd both go stark raving mad. He paused in his musings to glance at Krieg. More stark raving mad, he amended. 

"Thank you, Commander," he said aloud, still conducting the meeting. "Anything anyone would like to say? No? Okay, then this meeting is done," he said and was met with a large collective sigh. He looked up from organizing his papers to see that Lieutenant Krieg was already packed up and was on his way out when Commander Hitchcock called out to him. 

"Ben," she started before she stopped, seemingly unable to go on. Her ex-husband paused and turned around. 

"Yes?" he answered in that damned innocent/not-innocent voice he was so good at. The corners of his lips twitched. 

"All right, I give up," she went on in a rush, maybe feeling that if she took her time, she couldn't say it. Another pause. "I really do give up. What did you do?" The man she was addressing only raised an eyebrow. 

"Me? What did I do?" 

"Come off it, Ben," she said heatedly, standing up to face him. She stalked over to him and looked him right in the eye. "You win. All right? That's what you wanted to hear, isn't it? Well fine, I just said it: You win. Now tell me what you did so I can fix it." He only shrugged. 

"I didn't do anything." 

"Come on, just tell me. What did you do?" 

"Nothing," he answered again, a wicked glint in his eye. 

"But-" she started before he interrupted her with an upstretched arm. 

"But who made a complete fool out of herself, for no reason whatsoever?" he said, the grin finally appearing on his face. She blinked for a moment, before her eyes grew as large as saucers and her jaw slowly dropped as realization set in. Her mouth worked up and down a few times, but no sound came out. 

Ben grinned at her for a moment before he turned around and walked out of the room, and everyone else dashed after him, not wanting to be in that room one second longer with the woman. Bridger and the rest of the senior staff quickly closed the door behind them and turned to see Ben just standing outside the room, the glint still in his eye but the grin was gone. 

"Ben?" Ford queried. 

"One moment please, Commander."  
"But-" 

"Just," he held up a restraining hand, "just a moment, please," he said and then cocked his head to the side, thinking. "Four. Three. Two. One. Zero," he softly counted. Then, right on cue, came: 

"KRIEG!!! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!!" 

Though he didn't grin again, Benjamin Krieg smiled, a true smile, softly to himself, spun around on his heel, and started walking down the corridor, his body posture indicating that he was immensely pleased with himself. 

Bridger and company looked at each other before scrambling away themselves, trying to put as much distance between them and Kathryn Hitchcock as they possibly could. 

  


The soft smile stayed with Ben all the way to his quarters, one deck up and three hallways over, which took him right past Ensign McNeil's quarters, who was busy clutching her blanket to her chest and desperately trying to slow down her beating heart after she was rudely awoken from her slumber. 

end 


End file.
